Tenebrae (1982) (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review)
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Anthony Franciosa, Christian Borromeo, Mirella D’Angelo
RATED: UR/REGION 0/1:85/2160p/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Synapse Films
Italian horror master Dario Argento elevates the giallo genre to new heights with 1982’s Tenebrae, a darkly humorous and notoriously grisly murder-mystery that many consider to be one of his finest works. Now, Synapse Films, in conjunction with Arrow Video makes this gory suspense classic available in a new 4K restoration! American mystery author Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa, Death Wish II) comes to Rome to promote his newest novel, Tenebrae. A razor-wielding psychopath is on the loose, taunting Neal and murdering those around him in gruesome fashion just like the character in his novel. As the mystery surrounding the killings spirals out of control, Neal investigates the crimes on his own, leading to a mind-bending, genre-twisting conclusion that will leave you breathless! Co-starring John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Daria Nicolodi (Phenomena), John Steiner (Caligula) and featuring beautiful cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria), this stunning all-new 4K restoration includes hours of extras and a bonus Blu-ray!
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth…Truer words have never been spoken and you must take those words to heart when you watch Tenebrae, a story where an American writer in Rome is stalked by a serial killer bent on harassing him while killing all people associated with his work on his latest book (Which by the way is called Tenebre). There’s just something about this movie I just like folks, it has all the blood and gruesome kills that we’ve come to love with Argento but the thing that seals the deal for me with it is the fact that unlike such films of his like Deep Red, nothing drags here. And that goes a long way with me. Also, when Dario inserts his sense of humor into things like he tends to do it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, and when you mix it all together just right you get a VERY good film. It has been said that Dario considered Anthony Franciosa, who plays the lead role of Peter Neal, to be the most difficult actor he has ever worked with, but it doesn’t show on screen as he plays the role perfectly in my humble opinion. One of Dario’s favorites Daria Nicolodi (She was also in Deep Red) is back as well playing the role of Anne, she holds her own as well.
If there anything negative I could say it’s that one of the films best scenes is also the hardest to watch due to the logic. In one scene a girl is chased by a gate climbing dog (A hound from hell in every sense of the word but not literally) who seems hell bent on tearing the poor girl apart. Long story short and I’ll say this so I won’t give too much away, she ends up in a house where a sharp pair of scissors is laying right in front of her..Now I must ask, why didn’t she use these scissors?? I can’t speak for all of you but I’d be using those to shank my way out of danger had I been her. None the less when it comes ending time folks, I think you may all be shocked..I know I was. I guessed every scenario possible, but not the correct one..I guess When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth for sure. I’ve been a fan of this one since the old Anchor Bay DVD and needless to say this 4K from Synapse is the best this one has ever looked. If that alone wasn’t enough to make you want to watch it, it is PACKED with extras, one of which being the Yellow Fever documentary. You can’t go wrong with picking this one up.
Extras
- 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2022)
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Original Italian and English front and end titles and insert shots
- Restored original DTS-HD MA lossless Italian and English 2.0 mono soundtracks
- English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- Audio commentary by authors and critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
- Audio commentary by Argento expert Thomas Rostock
- Audio commentary by Maitland McDonagh, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento
- Yellow Fever: The Rise and Fall of the Giallo, a feature-length documentary charting the genre from its beginnings to its influence on the modern slasher film, featuring interviews with Dario Argento, Umberto Lenzi, Luigi Cozzi and more
- Being the Villain, a newly edited archival interview with actor John Steiner
- Out of the Shadows, an archival interview with Maitland McDonagh
- Voices of the Unsane, an archival featurette containing interviews with writer/director Dario Argento, actresses Daria Nicolodi and Eva Robins, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, composer Claudio Simonetti and assistant director Lamberto Bava
- Screaming Queen, an archival interview with Daria Nicolodi
- The Unsane World of Tenebrae, an archival interview with Dario Argento
- A Composition for Carnage, an archival interview with Claudio Simonetti
- Archival introduction by Daria Nicolodi
- International theatrical trailer
- Japanese “Shadow” theatrical trailer
- Alternate opening credits sequence
- “Unsane” end credits sequence
- Image galleries
